A reactor or a high-pressure reactor is process equipment which is manufactured in various forms and is widely used in facilities like gas plants, refineries, alternative energy plants, chemical plants and power plants. Such a reactor is a device in which a chemical reaction occurs in a production process, and thus it is required that the reactor be designed in consideration of both a chemical resistance against reacting substances and a needed strength.
In the meantime, as shown FIGS. 1 and 2, the most common one of reactors
is constituted by applying two coaxially arranged pipes, i.e., an inner pipe 1 of a shell 120 and an outer pipe 2 of a jacket 150.
More specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the reactor 100 is constructed such that the shell 120 and the jacket 150 are coupled to each other to exchange the heat of a solution such as chemical fluid, etc. Also, as shown in FIG. 2, the shell 120 of the reactor 100 is configured such that spirals 3 are continuously installed in the longitudinal direction between an inner pipe 1 of the shell 120 and an outer pipe 2 of the jacket 150 coaxially arranged to form a flow path for a heat medium. Such a reactor 100 is assembled such that the jacket 150 can be separated from and coupled to the shell 120. Further, mounted respectively at the shell 120 and the jacket 150 is a nozzle 160 for allowing fluid to be introduced into and discharged from the reactor 100 therethrough.
In the reactor 100 as constructed above, fluid introduced into and discharged from the reactor 100 through the nozzle 160 flows through the inner pipe 1 of the shell 120, and a heat medium flows through the flow path defined as an annular space by the spirals 3 positioned between the inner pipe 1 and the outer pipe 2 such that heat exchange between the fluid and the heat medium is performed through the wall (i.e., heating surface) of the inner pipe 1.
In this case, the reactor 100 includes a sealing mechanism for sealing between the spirals 3 and the outer pipe 2. A conventional sealing method for the sealing mechanism is conducted by welding the spirals 3 and the outer pipe 2. This sealing mechanism allows a sealing function to be maintained between the spirals 3 and the outer pipe 2 secures fixation of the spirals 3 to the outer pipe 2 through the welding of the spirals 3 and the outer pipe 2
Thus, a manufacturing method of the reactor 100 according to the prior art is performed by welding the spirals 3 to the periphery of the inner pipe 1 in such a fashion that a sheet for forming the outer pipe 2 abuts against between the spirals and the inner pipe 1.
However, such a conventional reactor 100 entails a problem in that production efficiency decreases due to an increase in the amount of secondary processing works for assembling the outer pipe 2 and the spirals 3, in that the assembly work is difficult, in that the risk of breakage of the spirals 3 and the outer pipe 2 during the assembly is high, and in that a secondary defect occurs after the completion of the assembly.